The mounting of a hardware module through the slidable drawer or rack mounting method is well known in the art. Given that a module must make power and signal connections with the computer cabinet within which it is installed, slidable mounting arrangements frequently employ the blind mating technique. This technique involves the automatic physical coupling of two elements of a connector assembly when the module is installed in the cabinet. This connection is typically made in an interior region of the cabinet, which is usually not easily accessible. One difficulty resulting from the use of the the blind mating technique is assuring that the two mating connector elements are properly aligned so that the connection will be reliably made.
One such blind mating technique is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,397 issued to Varaiya et al. on Jun. 28, 1988. Here the connection between the module and the housing is made through a connector jack which is fixedly located on the back of the drawer which holds the module, and a connector plug included on the backplane of the housing. The mating of the jack and plug relies upon a machined, precisely aligned opening defined through the right side of an end plate of the drawer, and a second oval alignment opening defined through the left side of the end plate. Tapered alignment pins mounted on the backplane enter these openings and thereby register and align the plug and jack prior to engagement as the drawer is installed. Accordingly, alignment involves the movement and positioning of the back end of the drawer as opposed to the movement and positioning of the jack and plug.
Another example of a blind mating technique is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,133 issued to Fleak et al. on Mar. 14, 1989. This patent shows the use of a "floating connector", which has at least one of the two parts of the connector free to move, or "float", within a predetermined tolerance. Generally, the alignment of the two connector parts of a floating connector is accomplished by first having some non-electrical, tapered guide pins, posts, or projections on one of the connector parts engage a corresponding non-electrical recess on the other. This cooperative interaction between the non-electrical guide means causes the alignment of the electrical connector elements for later mating as the two connector parts are physically brought together to final mating engagement. The alignment is accomplished by the guide projections and their corresponding recesses, not the electrical contact elements, themselves.
The physical parts which effect the alignment of floating connectors known in the art are typically manufactured as an integral part of the connector casing. As such, these alignment elements and the electrical elements that form the electrical connection, are fixedly bundled together to form an inseparable unit. As a result of this integral relationship the electrical contact elements cannot be easily separated from the alignment elements in the event that it is necessary or desirable to substitute a new electrical contact arrangement in place of the existing one.
In addition, floating connectors known in the art have been used for the purpose of mating a plurality of male and female connector elements, which are not all collinear with each other. In other words, floating connectors have been used with electrical connector elements which are arranged in arrays of generally orderly rows and columns. They have not been used with electrical connector elements which are all arranged linearly, such as the contacts on an edge card or a circuit card.
Separate from the issue of blind mating, when certain hardware modules, storage devices specifically, are mounted with a computer cabinet, other problems have been encountered in the prior art. For example, storage devices are commonly arranged side-by-side within a computer cabinet. Each such storage device is typically connected to a mother board, which may simultaneously control several storage devices. Often the mother board is also mounted beside its related storage devices. The multiple storage devices will each have their own cable connections crossing through the inside of the cabinet to the mother board. This cabling arrangement may impede the flow of a cooling fluid within the cabinet causing uneven, and possibly inadequate, cooling of the system. It also has a further disadvantage in that the control elements necessary for operating and servicing the storage device are contained on the mother board. With this type of arrangement, it may not be easy for a service person to readily identify which control elements and connections relate to a given storage element.
Other arrangements of storage devices within the computer cabinet have placed the control elements together with the storage device; however, the access to those elements typically involves the removal of a panel which forms part of the enclosure in which the storage device is housed. This arrangement thereby limits easy access to the device for control and servicing purposes.
While the prior art shows the slidable mounting of hardware modules generally and further shows the use of floating connectors, a need exists for the combination of an integrated installation assembly, which provides for convenient access to the hardware module for control and service, along with a floating connector in which the flotation means may be easily separated from the electrical connector elements. Moreover, a need further exists for a floating connector in which the electrical connector elements are all linear, as in the case of a circuit card, and in which the electrical elements are substantially self aligning. Finally, a need exists to provide both an integrated installation assembly and a floating connector which are inexpensive, easy to manufacture and assemble, and reliable.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an integrated installation assembly for the purpose of mounting a hardware module, such as a storage device or a power supply, in a computer cabinet.
Another feature of the invention is to provide an integrated installation assembly which is inexpensive, easy to manufacture and assemble, and reliable.
In another aspect of the invention there is provided an integrated installation assembly with a floating, self aligning, circuit card connector which connectively couples the hardware module with the overall computer in which the hardware module is housed.
In still another aspect of the invention there is provided a floating connector in which the flotation means is not formed as an integral part of the electrical elements of the connector, enabling easy separation of the flotation means from the electrical contact elements.